Washington state Supreme Court - Local Open Government Blog

WA Supreme Court Reaffirms that Public Records Act Does Not Apply to the Judiciary

Foster Pepper Municipal Group — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:46:33 -0800

Over 20 years ago, the Washington State Supreme Court held in Nast v. Michels, 107 Wn.2d 300 (1986 ) that the State's Public Records Act (PRA) does not apply to court case files because the judiciary is not included in the PRA’s definition of a State “agency.” On October 15, 2009 , the Supreme Court reaffirmed its Nast holding in City of Federal Way v. Koenig, 2009 WL 3298055.

The Koenig case began in February 2008. David Koenig, a regular claimant against Washington local governments, requested from the Federal Way Municipal Court all public records related to the resignation of Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Colleen Hartl . His request included correspondence to and from Presiding Judge Michael Morgan. The City of Federal Way provided 183 pages of documents . But, citing Nast, the City refused to provide the requested correspondence on the basis that the municipal court was not subject to the PRA. Koenig argued that Nast was wrongly decided and persisted in pursuing his requests.

The City filed a lawsuit and requested a declaratory ruling that the municipal court was not subject to the PRA. In September 2008 the trial court entered an order finding for the City. Koenig appealed that decision directly to the Washington State Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court affirmed the Nast holding. The Court emphasized that over the years the legislature had amended the PRA many times, without changing the definition of agency. Without a legislative change, the doctrine of stare decisis (to adhere to precedent) was applied by the Court to not disturb the Nast court's holding that the PRA does not apply to the judiciary. As a result, the Court held that the court records requested by Koenig were not subject to disclosure by the City of Federal Way under the PRA.

WA State Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in Attorney Billing Record Dispute

Foster Pepper Municipal Group — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:32:12 -0800

Last week, the Olympian reported that the Washington State Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments in the Yakima Herald-Republic’s legal battle over sealed records in a 2005 double homicide. The newspaper is appealing a July 2008 lower court ruling that defense attorney billing records detailing more than $1.5 million in fees and expenses are not subject to the Public Records Act. Arguments are expected to be scheduled sometime between January and early spring 2010.

Foster Pepper in the Washington State Supreme Court

Foster Pepper Municipal Group — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 08:46:39 -0800

On Tuesday, June 9, the Chair of Foster Pepper's Public Disclosure Team and editor of this blog, Ramsey Ramerman, will be arguing two cases on behalf of the City of Federal Way in the Washington State Supreme Court. Here are the issue statements from the Supreme Court's website:

City of Federal Way v. Koenig:

Open Government—Public Disclosure—“Local Agency”—What Constitutes—Municipal Court

Whether the Federal Way Municipal Court is a “local agency” subject to the disclosure requirements of the Public Records Act, chapter 42.56 RCW.

Morgan v. City of Federal Way:

Public Records—Exemptions to Disclosure—Municipal Court Judge—City Investigative Report—Court Records—Attorney Work Project—Attorney-Client Communications

Whether a City of Federal Way investigative report concerning a municipal court judge is a court record, attorney work product, or attorney-client communication exempt from disclosure pursuant to Public Records Act, chapter 42.56 RCW.

You can download PDF copies of the briefs here. You can watch the arguments live starting at 1:30 on Tuesday on TVW.